Manager, Legal Recruiting

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are searching for a Manager, Legal Recruiting (Policy & Regulatory and Nashville office).   

This position will be responsible for managing all aspects of lateral associate recruitment for the Policy & Regulatory (P&R) practice area across all U.S. offices, as well as all legal recruiting needs for the Nashville office. Primary responsibilities include management of lateral associate recruiting efforts, coordination of lawyer on-boarding and orientation for the P&R practice area and the Nashville office, as well as management of law school outreach and 1L and 2L student recruiting for the Nashville office, including management of the Summer Associate Program in Nashville. Additional responsibilities include working with legal search firms, facilitating lateral associate placement agreements and communicating with and marketing the firm to lateral candidates.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A.  Lateral Associate Recruiting

• Collaborate with Practice Area Leaders (PAL), Practice Group Coordinators (PGC), Office Managing Partners (OMP), P&R Practice Operations Director and others to strategically identify lateral hiring needs for P&R lateral associates for Firm’s U.S. offices

• Develop relationships and maintain regular contact with search firms focused in P&R hiring to stay informed about market trends

• Following the Firm’s Lateral Hiring Protocol, develop and submit business case for any new hires through Metastorm and monitor approval process

• Manage advertising of open positions, including drafting and distribution of job description on Firm’s website and other applicable external job boards, and providing regular updates to search firms
• Regularly communicate on status and strategic direction of open positions with key practice area and firm leaders involved with active P&R lateral searches

• Review resumes received from candidates and search firms and, in collaboration with PALs and PGCs, select candidates to move forward in the interview process; manage related follow-up tracking and correspondence
• Oversee applicant data tracking process while maintaining accurate applicant data in Firm’s internal systems
• Facilitate decision-making process and conduct follow-up with candidates or search firms
• Manage the lateral associate offer process, while adhering to the required pre-employment checks (conflicts, background)
• Manage orientation, on-boarding and integration of all lateral associate new hires for P&R practice area

B.  Law Student Recruitment

• Together with OMP and Hiring Partner, determine Nashville office recruiting strategy, including pipeline-building initiatives and identification of appropriate target school/interview programs

• Develop law school relationships and work with schools and students groups to increase awareness of the firm and build the candidate pipeline; develop and manage outreach events for 1Ls

• Coordinate 1L interviews, including interviews for the Firm’s 1L diversity Power of Partnership Program, when applicable

• Manage on-campus (OCI) and job fair interview programs, including pre-OCI law student communications, interviewing lawyer communication and training, facilitation of interview programs, planning and management of pre-OCI events or receptions, oversight of callback interview process, working closely with firmwide Legal Recruiting team and local office Hiring Committees to determine and deliver summer associate offers

C.  Other Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Legal Recruiting team members on position needs, candidates and potential hires
• Collaborate with Legal Recruiting team on pre-hire needs for P&R entry-level associates, including former summer associates and 3L hires, prior to their arrival

• Manage P&R-specific aspects of orientation and onboarding for new P&R entry-level associates
• Assist with interview training as needed
• Prepare and monitor budgets as needed

• Collaborate with members of Legal Recruiting team on firmwide initiatives and projects as needed
• Participate in office hiring committee meetings as needed
• Develop relationships with lawyers within the P&R practice area
• Provide strategic advice on hiring and market trends to key practice area leaders
• Perform other tasks, as assigned

Education and Experience:
• 4-year, accredited college degree (required)
• A minimum of 5 years of recruiting experience (required) preferably in a law firm or law school environment and a minimum of 3 years recruiting lawyers in the Intellectual Property space preferred

Skills:
• Requires excellent interpersonal and communication skills, good judgment, a professional and friendly demeanor, confidentiality, and strong professional and ethical standards.
• Must be highly motivated, creative, flexible, results-oriented and possess the ability to work independently under pressure with demanding deadlines.
• Must work well with all levels of firm personnel and must be able to establish effective working relationships throughout the firm.
• Must possess strong organizational, administrative and word processing skills.
• Must have proven working knowledge of MS Office, Excel and Outlook.
• Must be proficient with applicant data tracking software, preferably PeopleSoft Recruit Workforce.

Physical and Mental Demands:
• Must be able to deal with stress associated with a fast paced work environment, including handling multiple tasks on a daily basis.
• Must be able to make judgment decisions and handle daily, routine responsibilities.
• Must be able to adapt to changing work situations and grasp and apply new ideas.
• Must be able to communicate with various personalities at all levels of management and staff.
• Must be able to accommodate a flexible work schedule that will frequently require long hours and periodically weekend work.

Working Conditions:
• Desk type position which requires a combination of sedentary and standing activities.
• Daily use of personal computer and associated software systems.
Any information contained on this form represents the usual method of accomplishing the duties in this job. Reasonable accommodations will be considered inappropriate circumstances. However, as the nature of an accommodation may vary depending on the needs and desires of an individual with a disability, it is impossible to describe in advance specific accommodations that will be considered.

NOTE: Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

Compensation Salary $94,000 - $141,000

The compensation salary for this position will be determined during the interview process and will vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to prior experience, relevant expertise, current business needs, and market factors.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world. 

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

K&L Gates offers our personnel a comprehensive suite of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time personnel include:

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race (including traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as afros, braids, locks, and twists), religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, gender, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, familial status, domestic violence victim status, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment, and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of prohibited harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is based on sex, race, age, disability, ethnic background, or any other category protected by law (including the categories listed above). The Firm complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact askHR@klgates.com.